St. Marys Senior stars fall to Crawford County 14-5

Photo by Jim Mulcahy
St. Marys Senior Little League all-star Vince Jacob, 1, heads for third base after hitting an RBI triple during the home half of the second inning of Saturday’s Section 1 championship game played at Mt. Jewett.

By

Jim Mulcahy

MT. JEWETT - The St. Marys Little League Baseball Senior all-stars lost a 14-5 contest to the Crawford County Mets in the finals of the Section 1 Tournament played at Mt. Jewett Saturday afternoon.
Crawford County advances to the state tournament, scheduled for July 27 through Aug. 1 at Emporium.
St. Marys held a 5-4 lead going into the sixth inning when Crawford County exploded for nine runs on four hits, five walks and two errors to take a 13-5 lead.
St. Marys had nine hits in the contest, led by Ben Cortina’s double and single. Dalton Kline had two singles, while Vince Jacob tripled, Brock McCullough and Jack Herzing both doubled and Mitch Meyer and Shea Meyer each singled.
Jack Herzing started on the mound for St. Marys going, 4 1/3 innings and giving up four hits, walking five and striking out eight. Mitch Meyer worked 2 2/3 innings, giving up one hit and walking three. Todd Barnes worked one inning of relief, giving up four hits and walking four. Quinn Cunningham worked one inning, facing only three batters. Chase Corklin started on the mound for the Mets and worked five innings, giving up seven hits, walking two and striking out five. Luke Carter worked two innings, giving up two hits and striking out two.
St. Marys won the coin toss to be the home team.
Crawford County scored a run in the top half of the first on an error and a double to take the 1-0 lead. St. Marys left one man stranded in the home half of the inning.
The second inning found Crawford County leaving one man on base in the top of the inning. In the home half, Cortina reached base on an error. Jacob followed with a triple, scoring pinch runner Colton Lecker. Shea Meyer walked and Quinn Cunningham reached base on a fielder’s choice as Jacob was erased on the play. With two outs, Kline singled to score both Shea Meyer and Cunningham as St. Marys took the 3-1 lead.
The Mets left two men on base in the top of the third. Herzing led off the home half with a double. Mitch Meyer singled. An infield out allowed Herzing to score. A single by Shea Meyer scored Mitch Meyer as St. Marys led 5-1.
Crawford County came up with two runs in the top of the fourth inning on three hits and an error to cut the St. Marys lead to 5-3. St. Marys went down in order in the home half of the inning.
The top of the fifth saw the Mets score a run on two walks and a single, making the score 5-4. St. Marys went down in order, thanks to a double play in the home half of the fifth.
In the top of the sixth, Crawford County scored nine times on four hits and two errors, along with five walks, to take a 13-5 lead. St. Marys left two men on base in the home half of the sixth.
The top of the seventh saw Crawford County add another run to their total on an error and a walk to take a 14-5 lead. St. Marys left one man on base in the home half of the seventh as Crawford County won the game 14-5.
The St. Marys squad captured the District 10 title and finished the Section 1 tournament with a 2-2 record.